The Curriculum at Tidbury... 

"Leaders and managers rigorously monitor the progress children make. They put
measures in place to close gaps in children's learning quickly and identify where older
and the most able children can be stretched and challenged to exceed in their goals. "

OFSTED inspection 2018

 

"A great deal of time and expertise is devoted to ensuring that our well planned CURRICULUM covers each area of learning so that each child can progress towards the Early Learning Goals as specified by the government body - OFSTED."

 Our children are divided into three age groups each September for both adult led teaching and play: 

  • The Cub group is for children who are turning 2 after 1st September
  • The Big Bear group is for children who turn 3 after 1st September
  • The Swan group is our pre – school group for children who turn 4 after 1st September

Our daily curriculum is planned for each of the groups of children to support targets both for the group and for each child’s individual needs.

Our aim is to help all children attending the nursery to achieve their maximum potential. At Tidbury the team are very aware of the importance of structured but “child-led” play and we put a strong emphasis on “Learning in the Outdoor Environment”.

  • We plan activities that both encompass and extend each child's current knowledge and interests.
  • This ensures that learning is fun, exciting and meaningful.
  • "Children are keen, eager and motivated to learn. "

The  Cub Group 

When children are in the Cub group or if  a child is new to Tidbury children, they are very closely supported to build their confidence and ensure they are happy and secure within our setting.  

We focus on the three Prime Areas of Learning:

  1.  Personal & Social skills - We support each cub to become familiar with the nursery environment and learning about where they can play and how to play there. We also carefully build their confidence with the transitions - what is happening now and what happens next, until they are familiar with all the routines that happen within the day.
  2. Communication and Language skills - We support each cub to learn the names of teachers, friends, areas of the nursery and all the new vocabulary linked to the nursery. We also begin to extend language, extending sentences and beginning to teach key phrases to help them to ask for support and interact with their peers.
  3. Physical skills: We support them eating, drinking and with self help skills e.g.: taking off their coats.

We also support them closely on climbing equipment and on bikes. They build their fine motor skills e.g.: experimenting with filling and emptying in the sand, exploring paint, water, dough and bricks. 

The Big Bear Group

Children in their Big Bear year are settled into life at Tidbury. They are consolidating their learning, forming friendships and beginning to become independent learners and thinkers. The Big Bears are learning to listen to their peers and can follow instruction and concentrate on tasks. . We focus on developing their enthusiasm and motivation to learn. We build on self esteem, sense of self and consideration for others.  

In the Bear Group, we continue to give the three "Prime Areas of Learning" priority. When these areas are strong, it enables children to develop skills within the other four "Specific Areas of Learning".

The children in the Big Bear group have two additional focused adult led group times each day

  1. Literacy focused group. This may be linked to listening and recognising sounds, rhymes, songs, and early writing skills.
  2. Maths focused group. This may be linked to counting, sorting, matching, numbers, shape or size.

They will also be lots of learning inside and outside linked to the other specific areas:

  1. Expressive Arts & Design: creating through art and media, dancing to different music in different ways, thinking about what they want to build, make, dressing up & make believe.
  2. Understanding the World – looking closely at insects, noticing patterns, how things are different. Sharing family news, joining in celebrations, acting out different roles eg: the police, fire fighters.

The Swan Group

Joining the Swan group is a very exciting time... The Big Bears move smoothly into their Swan group year with confidence and enthusiasm and are eager to learn and problem solve! They have already developed many important life skills in their Bear Group year and this pre-school year is the time to put all the finishing touches into place before the start of school life.

They have two focused adult led times each day balanced between the outdoor and indoor learning environment. 

  1. Literacy focused group. There is a strong focus on listening skills, answering questions, rhyming words and robot talk. We introduce phonics, writing and reading through the Jolly Phonics scheme. 
  2. Maths focused group. Naming and recognising numbers 1 – 10. Counting on a 1:1 basis & ordering numbers. The children explore shape and properties of a shape. They explore and hunt for shapes in the environment and use shapes for tasks. They also begin to separate groups of objects and we introduce the mathematical language linked to tally's, addition and subtraction.

A lot of emphasis is still placed on the three Prime Areas of Learning e.g.: using kind and thoughtful words, being helpful, courteous and listening to others. There is lots of “team work” and encouragement to support, negotiate and work together.  Many swans often have the ability to lead group play and take on a real leadership role supporting the Cubs and the Big Bears.

At the end of the Summer term, the Swans prepare for their Graduation Day.

It is a very special and momentous day for the children and all their families. They proudly wear their caps and gowns for presentations  and join in a show with their younger friends.